The US Foreign Aid Policy to the Middle East : The Political Economy of US Assistance to the MENA Region

With 63 percent of the world's proven petroleum resources, and with 37 percent of its natural gas, it seems highly ironic that the Middle East and North African Region (MENA) is also the largest recipient of US foreign aid. In addition to fossil fuels, the region is also well endowed with many other minerals and plants providing it with a per capita GDP twice as high as the average of developing countries, higher even than former socialist transition economies. Poverty is relatively low in MENA, only 1.6 percent of its population earns less than $1 per capita a day. Infrastructure is relatively well developed, 88% of its population have access to improved water sources, and 91% to electricity (World Bank). From the perspective of poverty reduction, MENA's needs for economic assistance from the developed world are by no means as pressing as those of poorer regions, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, yet MENA is the largest recipient of US foreign assistance since 1973